A picture frame in common use today is made of extruded aluminum frame sections, each of which includes a receiving channel into which the legs of an L-shaped corner piece can be inserted. The corner piece includes two similarly shaped plates, which can be clamped to adjacent frame sections by tightening a screw in each leg. The screws are accessible through an elongated slot in the back of the frame section.
Heretofore, the assembly of such a frame was a manual process with the framer tightening the screws by hand after the frame sections were aligned. This is a relatively time consuming process and can become tiresome if many frames need to be assembled in a short period of time.
Moreover, when manually assembling a frame, the framer must have access to the back of the frame which means that while the frame is being tightened, he cannot see the position of the art work and mat board within the frame. This can lead to problems of alignment and may require corrective action on the part of the framer, further exacerbating the problems encountered by the framer.
The invention provides a machine which tightens the screws used to clamp the mitred sections of a conventional aluminum frame together. Moreover, the machine functions with the front of the frame (and thus the art work) facing the framer so that before the screws are tightened, the framer can make sure that the art work and mat boards are properly aligned.